01
You talk to the builder
No account managers or handoffs. The person on your kickoff call is the person who writes your pages and builds the site.
About Heartland Digital Studio
One builder. Your website. No agency layers.
Heartland Digital Studio builds and looks after websites for owner-run trade and site-service businesses in mid-Michigan. One person does the writing, the build and the care, from Alma. Founder Brendan Makidon is a U.S. Air Force veteran with a cybersecurity background.
A website is business equipment. It should bring in calls, quotes and booked jobs, and it should be easy to keep running.
- $3,500 Fixed price for a six-page rebuild
- 1 Person you talk to, start to finish
- MI Based in Alma, working with mid-Michigan businesses
Where it started
From high school HTML to a studio built on discipline and security
Heartland Digital Studio grew out of years of hands-on web work, military service and a cybersecurity education. The goal is simple: websites made by a real person who understands how the business behind them makes money.
2015
HTML, CSS and early web design
Brendan started building websites from scratch in high school and placed third in a BPA web design competition that year.
2017
U.S. Air Force
He set web design aside to serve. The Air Force taught discipline, accountability and mission-focused planning, and those habits shape every client project today.
2021
Cybersecurity and systems
Back in Michigan, he earned a bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance and went on to work in enterprise security, with a focus on secure systems and web architecture.
2024
A side project becomes a studio
A software side project built to sharpen skills in APIs, security and architecture became the foundation for Heartland Digital Studio.
Today
Human-made websites that earn their keep
HDS rebuilds and looks after websites for owner-run trade and site-service businesses in mid-Michigan, so they can compete with clear, human-written websites and security-minded upkeep.
Why clients work with HDS
What is different about working with a one-person studio
02
Prices are published
A six-page rebuild is $3,500 fixed, paid in three parts tied to the work. The care plan is $199 a month, required for the first six months. You know the cost before the first call.
03
Built around the business
Every page is planned around how your customers search and decide: what you do, where you work, what it costs and how to reach you.
04
Security-minded upkeep
A cybersecurity background shows up after launch too. The care plan covers hosting, updates, backups, uptime monitoring and form checks, so the site keeps working.
How a project runs
Five steps, about four weeks
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1
Kickoff and interview
Week 1. A short kickoff, then one 60-minute interview about your services, your towns and how jobs come in.
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2
Inputs due in 7 days
Week 1. Logo, services, towns, license and insurance details, job photos and account access.
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3
Copy approved
Week 2. I write every page. You send one consolidated round of written edits.
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4
Build
Week 3. The site is built on the approved copy, with the quote path, schema, tracking and redirects in place.
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5
Review, fixes, launch
Week 4. One design review round, defect fixes, launch and a 30-minute handoff.
Recent work
Real sites for real businesses
EK Disposal Services
Dumpster rental · Mount Pleasant
Cognitive Edge Counseling
Counseling practice · Alma
Nixon's Outdoor Services
Lawn care · Laingsburg
“Working with Heartland has had our rentals booked out since they've finished our site.”Kip Williams, Owner, EK Disposal Services
See your site the way a customer does
Get a free 3 to 5 minute recorded review of your site and Google listing. If a rebuild makes sense: $3,500 fixed, about four weeks, copy written for you.
USAF veteran-owned · Based in Alma, Michigan · Copy written by a person